With their vital pollinating activities, bees are one of the most ecologically useful and important insects, and beekeeping must rate as one of the most interesting and satisfying hobbies. The structure and hierarchy of a beehive and the behaviour of bees is fascinating, and the end product, honey, is a fitting reward for a beekeeper?s care. Since the decline of the honeybee worldwide owing to disease and intensive farming, there has been a huge re-surge of interest in beekeeping, and many new beekeepers have taken up the challenge of keeping bees, particularly in urban areas. They can enjoy the honey that is produced, and help the environment at the same time by supporting the bees? essential role of pollinating plants and flowers. This book outlines the relationship of bees and people, different types and species of bees, and explains in a practical way all the factors to consider before starting to keep bees. In the early chapters of this volume, the author suggests suitable sites to house the hives, which can include small gardens or even rooftops, and the best kind of hives to buy. The section includes the way the hive works, handling the bees, and how to get your bees and transfer them to the hive. A useful calendar, packed with information, shows you at a glance when to inspect, maintain and repair the structure of the hive to ensure that the bees are happy and healthy all through the year. The bees? hard work culminates in wax combs bursting with honey, and a detailed harvesting plan lists the equipment needed to harvest the golden liquid, from extraction to bottling, from storage to uses for the honey. As well as disease, mites and poisoning, there are other problems that the novice beekeeper needs to be aware of, including wax moth, brood diseases, and pests such as other insects, mice, birds, bears, skunks and raccoons. The author explains how anticipating these situations and preparing for them can avoid losing the entire hive. He also outlines how to help the bees become more productive, by providing a bee-friendly garden with plants and flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen, to provide food early and late in the year when it is scarce. Finally there is a section for those interested in taking beekeeping further by using the many products that bees supply, entering competitions, rearing queens and breeding queens. This captivating volume will inspire the budding beekeeper and provide all the information necessary to start a colony, look after it and harvest the products of the hive. As well as enjoying an engaging hobby, beekeepers are doing a hugely important job by helping the environment, and ensuring the continuance of our food supply

Keep your own bees and enjoy delicious golden honey from your own backyard. With his respect and admiration for bees evident on every page, Richard E. Bonney describes how to acquire bees, manage a hive, prevent and treat diseases, and extract a crop of honey. Enthusiastic beekeepers of every stripe and experience level will benefit from Bonney’s astonishing knowledge of the craft — from beekeeping history and honeybee biology to the complex social structure of the hive.

A fascinating hobby; a remunerative business; or a globetrotting career? Which type of beekeeper do you want to be? It is entirely up to you: beekeeping can provide it all.Beekeeping can provide anyone with an interesting and useful hobby or a lucrative and rewarding business. It is recognised as a vital agricultural industry and can therefore also offer you a globe trotting career. The whole subject is, however, often shrouded in mystery and loaded with jargon, leaving many people unaware of its true potential or how to start. This book strips away all the mystery and explains step by step how - from day one - you can start beekeeping as a hobby; how you can progress to running a beekeeping business; or how you can start a career as a beekeeper which can quite easily take you all over the world. No other guide explains in such detail the true potential and accessibility of beekeeping or of being a beekeeper.

The Bee Manual offers a clear and concise introduction into the fascinating world of the honey bee and the addictive craft of beekeeping. For various reasons, the number of bee colonies has been declining and there is great interest in trying to aid their recovery. Anyone wanting to keep bees needs to learn about the individuals, how colonies operate and how the beekeeper can work with these insects to help them thrive, carry out their pollination activities and produce a satisfying honey crop. Full of color photos and clear step-by-step text, this book offers practical advice for anyone planning to take up this absorbing hobby.

Ted Hooper's classic manual is a practical handbook for both the beginner and the experienced beekeeper. Information is provided on all you need to know, including how to avoid swarms, plan requeening, or provide the colony with winter stores.

One of Europe's most successful natural beekeepers shares an approach that is fun, healthful, rewarding, and accessible to all. In this richly illustrated volume, he provides instruction in making bee-friendly, well-insulated horizontal hives.

Specially written for amateurs, beginners, cottagers and others who are desirous of keeping two or three hives of bees so as to yield the best results. Contents Include: Advantages of Bee-Keeping The Honey Bee Products of Bees Combs Modern Bee-Keeping Appliances Food Swarming Manipulating Honey Diseases of Bees Enemies of Bees

This trusted handbook is a must-have for novice and seasoned beekeepers alike. Now totally redesigned and featuring color photos and graphics, the second edition also includes up-to-date information on honey bee health. The go-to reference presents comprehensive yet accessible information on everything from planning hives and installing a colony to preventing disease and managing productive hives that will bear bountiful honey harvests year after year. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

In recent years beekeepers have had to face tremendous challenges, from pests such as varroa and tracheal mites and from the mysterious but even more devastating phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Yet in backyards and on rooftops all over the world, bees are being raised successfully, even without antibiotics, miticides, or other chemical inputs.More and more organically minded beekeepers are now using top-bar hives, in which the shape of the interior resembles a hollow log. Long lasting and completely biodegradable, a topbar hive made of untreated wood allows bees to build comb naturally rather than simply filling prefabricated foundation frames in a typical box hive with added supers. Top-bar hives yield slightly less honey but produce more beeswax than a typical Langstroth box hive. Regular hive inspection and the removal of old combs helps to keep bees healthier and naturally disease-free. Top-Bar Beekeeping provides complete information on hive management and other aspects of using these innovative hives. All home and hobbyist beekeepers who have the time and interest in keeping bees intensively should consider the natural, low-stress methods outlined in this book. It will also appeal to home orchardists, gardeners, and permaculture practitioners who look to bees for pollination as well as honey or beeswax.

Today's beekeepers face unprecedented challenges, a fact that is now front-page news with the spread of "colony collapse disorder." Newly introduced pests like varroa and tracheal mites have made chemical treatment of hives standard practice, but pest resistance is building, which in turn creates demand for new and even more toxic chemicals. In fact, there is evidence that chemical treatments are making matters worse. It's time for a new approach. Now revised and updated with new resources and including full-color photos throughout, Natural Beekeeping offers all the latest information in a book that has already proven invaluable for organic beekeepers. The new edition offers the same holistic, sensible alternative to conventional chemical practices with a program of natural hive management, but offers new sections on a wide range of subjects, including: The basics of bee biology and anatomy Urban beekeeping Identifying and working with queens Parasitic mite control Hive diseases Also, a completely new chapter on marketing provides valuable advice for anyone who intends to sell a wide range of hive products.Ross Conrad brings together the best "do no harm" strategies for keeping honeybees healthy and productive with nontoxic methods of controlling mites; eliminating American foulbrood disease without the use of antibiotics; selective breeding for naturally resistant bees; and many other detailed management techniques, which are covered in a thoughtful, matter-of-fact way. Whether you are a novice looking to get started with bees, an experienced apiculturist looking for ideas to develop an integrated pest-management approach, or someone who wants to sell honey at a premium price, this is the book you've been waiting for.

An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden - New Material Includes: - The Latest Techniques in the Battle Against Invasive Mites - The 25 Rules of Modern Beekeeping - All about Urban Beekeeping - How to Use Top Bar Hives

The Backyard Beekeeper, now revised and expanded, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime that will appeal to gardeners, crafters, and cooks everywhere. This expanded edition gives you even more information on "greening" your beekeeping with sustainable practices, pesticide-resistant bees, and urban and suburban beekeeping. More than a guide to beekeeping, it is a handbook for harvesting the products of a beehive and a honey cookbook--all in one lively, beautifully illustrated reference. This complete honey bee resource contains general information on bees; a how-to guide to the art of bee keeping and how to set up, care for, and harvest honey from your own colonies; as well as tons of bee-related facts and projects. You'll learn the best location to place your new bee colonies for their safety and yours, and you'll study the best organic and nontoxic ways to care for your bees, from providing fresh water and protection from the elements to keeping them healthy, happy, and productive. Recipes of delicious treats, and instructions on how to use honey and beeswax to make candles and beauty treatments are also included.

Keeping Bees and Making Honey is a stunning, comprehensive and attractive lifestyle guide to beekeeping packed with images, information, practical advice, useful resources and recipes.Whether you have a tiny balcony or acres of land; live in the middle of a city or in the countryside surrounded by flowers, you can keep bees. Keeping Bees and Making Honey caters for every situation, and covers everything you will need to consider before you set up your colony – including when and how to tell the neighbours! 'Understanding your bees' introduces you to the history of bees and humans, the anatomy of a honey bee, the variety of species that you are likely to encounter, the caste system within a colony of queen, worker and drone, and the birth and life cycle of bees.'What to consider' suggests factors to consider before keeping bees, from the space where you will house your hives to children and pets. Learn about the variety of hives available and how they work, as well all the important things that you will need including protective clothing, a smoker and hive tool, as well as honey-harvesting equipment.There are a variety of sources for purchasing your bees and 'Where and when to get your bees' will give you all the advice you need covering the nucleus, packaged bees, full colonies and tips on marking the queen. There are detailed sections on pollen and supers. 'Gardening for bees' will help you consider the best flowers to supply nectar and pollen to your bees whilst ensuring your garden looks great!It is probably the prospect of home-grown honey that entices most people to keep bees. 'All about honey' will show you how bees make honey, and how to harvest, jar and sell your honey. There is a whole chapter devoted to other bee products, from uses of beeswax; candles and cosmetics, to delicious recipes made with honey. Finally, 'Health and care' will ensure that your apiary stays clean and tidy, and your colony is pest free, strong and vigorous. This updated and revised edition of Keeping Bees and Making Honey includes new material on bees as a superorganism, keeping bees in urban locations such as schools and at work, caring for bees during the winter, your second year as a bee keeper and more on bee health, varroa and colony collapse disorder.Environmentally there has never been a more important time to start beekeeping, nor is there a better antidote to the stresses of everyday life. Keeping Bees and Making Honey is the ideal companion for you if you are planning to start keeping bees in order to contribute to their conservation and to enjoy the considerable benefits of this fascinating hobby.

Practical, endlessly charming handbook on all aspects of this romantic, arcane pursuit offers advice, observations, and information on hive management and the practices and principles of efficient, effective apiculture. 111 illustrations.

The fast and easy way to start and maintain a hive Beekeeping For Dummies is a practical, step-by-step beginner's guide to beekeeping. It gives you plain-English guidance on everything you need to know to start your own beehive, from buying the right equipment, sourcing bees, and locating your hive to maintaining a healthy colony and harvesting honey. Plus, you'll get the latest information on the causes and effects of bee disease, colony collapse disorder, and the impact the sudden disappearance of the honeybee has on our environment and economy. Here, you'll get trusted information on beekeeping in the UK, specifically written to address climate, buying equipment, locating hives, the local impact of colony collapse disorder and ways to avoid or minimise the risk to your hive, seasonal beekeeping tasks, local beekeeping associations, and updated content on urban beekeeping. Understand the anatomy of your bees Learn techniques and tips for harvesting, bottling, packaging, and selling honey Discover the benefits of beekeeping Learn techniques on obtaining and hiving your bees If you're a beginner beekeeper, taking a beekeeping course, or just have an interest in the plight of the honeybee, Beekeeping For Dummies has you covered!

Honeybees make decisions collectively--and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees. In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together--as a swirling cloud of bees--to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution. An impressive exploration of animal behavior, Honeybee Democracy shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them.

This guide is a diagnostic tool and an aide memoir for the hobbyist and for the professional beekeeper, who may know what to do but will at times need the information close to hand. It includes: - A troubleshooting guide to problems with colonies and queen bees - A guide to the field diagnosis, treatment and control of diseases - Seasonal apiary management checklists - Hive product harvesting checklists - The beekeeper's ready reckoner The second and revised edition of this fully illustrated and handy guide to the apiary brings the science and craft of beekeeping to beekeepers right where they need it - in the field with the bees. Contents: Preface; List of figures; List of photographs; List of tables; Picture credits; Introduction; Part A: Setting up an Apiary; Part B: Crops, Trees and Plants for Bees; Part C: Troubleshooting Guide to Field Operations; Part D: Swarm Prevention and Control; Part E: Queen Bees; Part F: Honey Harvest Procedures; Part G: Hive Checks; Part H: Pests and Diseases; Part I: A Beekeeper's Ready-reckoner; Part J.

A guide to beekeeping offers advice on getting started with the hobby, providing a history of bees and beekeeping and discussing how to buy colonies, keep records, manage a hive, and take care of stings.

Discover the joys of harvesting honey from your own backyard. Alethea Morrison outlines what you’ll need to know to make it through the first year, while stunning macrophotography by Mars Vilaubi brings the inner workings of the hive to life. With in-depth discussions of allergies, colony hierarchy, bee behavior, and more, this approachably informative guide bursts with enthusiastic encouragement. Keep your own bees, and enjoy the sweet buzz.